Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Abstract

The authors employed a longitudinal in-depth action research method to explore the implementation of organizational learning in an Asian national police force. They aimed to get an interpretive, in-depth understanding of the related processes of transformational change, as well as the barriers to change, in a machine bureaucracy with entrenched structure and culture not ordinarily conducive to learning and adaptation. Second, they aimed to explore the applicability of universalist change management prescriptions in this context. The authors found several structural and cultural barriers to transformational change that were nevertheless being successfully contested through a bottom-up participative change process, the existence of change champions, experiences that challenged the prevailing culture, and change actions that were congruent with the organization's authorizing environment. Second, they found that universalist change management prescriptions may not always be relevant because the nature, task, and culture of an organization influence what approaches are appropriate and applicable.Effective organizational learning (OL) is widely seen as a key to sustainable competitive advantage and necessary for organizational survival (De Geus, 1988;Nonaka, 1991;Schein, 1993;Senge, 1990aSenge, , 1990b as well as a potent way of meeting the strategic challenges of the organization and of even redefining its boundaries (Baldwin, Danielson, & Wiggenhorn, 1997). Developing OL capabilities is not an easy task, 361 We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this article. We contributed equally to this article.

Bridging the divide: Exploring inequities between sworn and civilian leaders in a Canadian police service.

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Mitigating Aggressive Small Trade at Tourist Destinations Through Cognitive Restructuring

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